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Beauty was a term most were familiar with in theory; attributed often to petals on flowers, or honeyed words pouring like nectar from a woman’s gentle lips. Perhaps the delicate shine of moonlight curving through the panes of a window, casting rays onto shadow, dancing across surfaces. Some might say beauty was synonymous with fragility. Something fleeting and finespun, to be hidden away lest it be marred by the world’s dirt, only to be gazed upon from afar but never to be touched.
Viktor believed beauty underpinned most things in this world, the life force that drove humanity forwards through trials and challenge. To pursue the otherworldly, the perfect, the unobtainable. A rare feat to truly see it in one’s lifetime, he was aware, but it could be achieved.
He knew this, because he was seeing it now.
It was another night of Piltie revelry following the year’s Distinguished Innovators Competition, and the afterparty was alive and thrumming. Piltover’s finest flooded the dancehall, their golden silks and silver scarves drifting behind them as they swirled around the space, colours of every House mingling and melding into a kaleidoscopic spectacle of hues.
They had been to three of these events by now, Jayce and he. Three victories, three subsequent soirees to celebrate. Three evenings sat as far from the blinding light of Piltover’s lavish decor as he could get, occupying himself comfortably with a half-filled glass of champagne, alone.
No, these evenings weren’t for him, which he was grateful for. He had always been an observer, one to free the spotlight for the people that shone beneath it.
People like Jayce, of course.
Because, truly, Jayce was shining tonight.
He wore gold, red and white, as he always did. Brilliance, strength and innocence, blazing around him like an aura, coating him in a magnetism that pulled noble after noble into his orbit, hanging off of his every word for the chance to sway with him for just a moment.
The Jayce from their partnership seemed to disappear on nights like these; the clumsy, wearied Jayce that spilt coffee onto papers and sang tuneless songs to keep focus was locked far away back in the lab, making way for a luminescent socialite, commanding the attention of all in the room.
It was beneficial to their cause that Jayce was so captivating, Viktor knew. So, he clung to the sidelines, to prevent his visage from dimming Jayce’s light. He was never one for glitz and splendour, and was entirely content in that. It wasn’t where he desired to be, after all.
Nursing his flute, Viktor adjusted the sleeve on his blouse and gazed up into the skylight at the moon as it waned through inky black. He would leave soon, he thought. His top was starting to itch at his back, the strange cut of it prickling his skin beneath his jacket.
Jayce had insisted he visit one of Caitlyn’s favourite boutiques for a new garment, though Viktor assured him he wouldn’t have reason to remove his overcoat all evening. But Jayce, magnanimous man that he was, had wanted them equal in tailor and in price. Something in that, despite the extravagance of it all, drove Viktor to comply.
He shook himself mildly and looked at the stars, counting them silently as time slid by, the distant hum of music filtering in and out of his ears. Funny, he thought as champagne washed gently down his throat, that he could always find the quiet.
“There you are!”
However fleeting that quiet may be.
Drifting back down into the room, Viktor blinked, momentarily blinded by molten gold. Warm, vibrant, glowing.
“Here I am,” was his levelled reply, taking in all the radiance before him.
Jayce slid easily into the booth, wasting no time in knocking their knees together beneath the table. The scent of expensive wine and a multitude of varying perfumes wafted off of him, his skin glistening from the heat of the dance floor.
“I kept wondering where you were,” he began, reflections of the room dancing across his pupils like gemstones encased in rock, “people were asking about you.”
Viktor scoffed at that, pulling his gaze away to realign himself, “I question their intentions.”
“They want to know who my mysterious partner that never comes on stage with me actually is.” Jayce grinned, nudging him with his shoulder, heat pushing through his blazer to flood Viktor to the core. “You’re an ‘enigmatic figure’, apparently.”
“An oddity, more like,” he chuckled, taking a sip and entirely missing the saddened little look Jayce shot his way, “besides, I am horrendous at public speaking anyway.”
“Now that’s not true,” Jayce continued to sparkle beside him, his sweat like glitter as it slid down into the crook of his neck. “You encourage me all day in the lab.”
“Mhm, with insults, perhaps.” Viktor found himself smiling, despite weariness pulling him deeper into the chair. Jayce had that effect on him, it seemed. “You do love to prove yourself, don’t you?”
“Pssh. Sure. Maybe.” The sheer warmth radiating from his expression was enough to make Viktor pull slightly at the jacket over his shoulders, cool air filtering in. “But, hey, don’t try and change the topic!”
“Topic? What topic?”
He laughed, Viktor felt weightless. “ Viktor . You should mingle.”
“ Jayce. I should not.”
Jayce sighed, his smile turning the sound into something jocular and buoyant, “but what if I want to show my partner off? Let everyone see the secret genius behind Hextech?”
If Viktor’s pulse throbbed beneath his skin at that, it was for only him to know. His nail skidded sharply against the neck of his glass, drink swirling unevenly within the base.
Jayce was looking at him intently now; brows upturned and pleading, eyes glistening and round, smile simple and sweet.
Viktor thought himself a strong man, but his stability was wavering. “Jayce, the thought of navigating such treacherous and, eh, supercilious seas on my lonesome is not my idea of a celebration.”
“No, no, Viktor, I’d stay with you,” bronze fingers found Viktor’s ivory, shivers across the bumps of his skin, “if you’d, uh, you know. Like me to be there.”
It was a lapse in judgement to meet Jayce’s gaze then; honey, bright and beautiful, honed in entirely on Viktor with a sincerity that it ached to look at. Jayce’s unwavering pride in having Viktor at his side was something nigh unbelievable, and yet here he was reinforcing it yet again.
“Well,” he paused to drain the final few mouthfuls of his glass, allowing the beverage to spark the neurons in his skull, “you make a compelling, if simplistic, argument.”
“So you will?” Eager, almost puppy-like, luminaries in his eyes.
With a sigh, Viktor began to unbutton his jacket. “Half an hour.”
On his feet within seconds, Jayce beamed, lustrous like the thread lining his lapels. He offered Viktor a hand, innocent as the moonlight drifting down through the roof, which Viktor took to stand.
Stalling momentarily to remove his overcoat, Viktor draped the faded thing over the back of a gilded chair beside their table, then retrieved his cane and turned back to Jayce.
Jayce, whose cheeks were now stained like cherry wine, fingers clasped, digits wringing between each other as he gazed somewhere below Viktor’s clavicle. He snapped up, something crossing his face that Viktor couldn’t catch, before raising his palm in gesture to the main floor.
“After you, partner.”
Viktor glanced down at his attire and wondered if their matching colours might suit him poorly, for it to startle Jayce so. It was his first time wearing them, after all.
Regardless, they merged into the crowd, raindrops joining a rushing stream, and were immediately whisked away.
A group of women, elegant gowns keeping them afloat in the waves of guests, were locked on Jayce in an instant. Their hearts dancing out of their mouths as they spoke to him about topics that Viktor realised he couldn’t hear.
Crowds were never… comfortable for him.
Cotton in his ears, night air flitting through the slit in the back of his blouse, golden chain icy where it tapped against his spine, shocking him into silence with each tiny hit. Overwhelming, so overwhelming.
His fatigue was catching up to him, willing him to sink in the water, to abandon ship and leave Jayce to sail this voyage alone after such a measly amount of time-
But then, reprieve, whole and firm, in the form of Jayce’s gentle hand on the small of his back.
An anchor, he realised blissfully.
Chancing a glance up at him, Viktor saw nothing but easy calm on Jayce’s face, answering their many questions with a well-rehearsed ease. His profile was shimmering, teeth whiter than pearls, and his palm was a comfort where it rested against Viktor’s shirt.
Viktor allowed himself to settle into it.
The evening continued on, with Jayce softly holding Viktor through a veritable maze of Piltover’s finest, pressing into Viktor’s back as if he belonged there, thumb resting in the cleft of one of his dimples.
Somehow, the evening became bearable. Perhaps even enjoyable.
Conversations were interspersed with the pair discussing their not-so polite opinions on each noble that swept past them, Jayce unable to stop boyish giggles escaping him whenever Viktor made a particularly snarky remark, cheeks high and bright. No longer were they scientists catalysing technology that could alter the very fabric of the world; instead, they were simply two young men in matching colours, buzzed and giddy at a party entirely too posh for either of them to take seriously.
“Does Sir desire his fifth beverage of the evening?” Jayce was asking after yet another uninspiring dialogue with an elite Viktor couldn’t care to remember, a teasing accent on his tongue.
“Hmm, I could be persuaded,” Viktor hummed, leaning into his partner, cane nestled beneath the crooks of his fingertips, “what does the esteemed Man of Progress recommend?”
“Ooh,” and as Jayce pretended to think, his hand slipped into the opening in Viktor’s blouse, running up the scapula, “I would have to enquire about Sir’s tastes first.”
Viktor had to take a breath before responding, the soft sparks fizzing against his spine distracting and new, “something sweet, if you please, Jayce. I detest bitter things.”
His answering smile was deeply fond, “I know.”
Fonder still, was how Jayce began to play with the chain falling down Viktor’s back. Threading golden hoops between his fingers, skimming Viktor’s skin with every little movement, nails drifting like feathers against flesh.
It took effort to subdue any stray shivers.
The movements lingered as Jayce flagged a waiter down to order Viktor’s drink, the tip of his thumb pressing up and down the gilded chain, no doubt indenting a delicate pattern along Viktor’s spine. Maddening. Their golds, whites and reds merging into one.
“Jayce,” he spoke after a moment, a question in his tone, an exasperated little smirk weaving onto his lips.
“Hmm?” He offered Viktor a tilt of his head, brows pinched with a readiness to answer whatever his partner was going to request of him. Sincerity in motion as Jayce leant in, so pure it caused Viktor’s nape to sweat.
His hand slid up the entirety of Viktor’s back, curving across his shoulder beneath the fabric, smile sunny and utterly oblivious.
He doesn’t even realise he’s doing it.
Something electric sparked within Viktor at that; a sudden challenge, a desire to try something new.
“I was just wondering…”
Dare he?
“Yeah, Vik?”
Calmly, and so very softly, he placed his own hand to Jayce’s waist, arm spanning around the width of him, sliding them snug against one another.
Viktor had always been a risk-taker.
“Was it you who requested our attire match this evening?”
It took a moment for Jayce to react.
Wheels spinning, speed increasing slowly, taking in Viktor’s appearance, until-
The tiniest giggle, accompanied by a grin so wide his eyes turned into crescents perched atop his cheekbones.
“Oh wow, we do!”
Sunshine , Viktor thought, unbidden.
Pure, unfiltered sunshine.
Viktor huffed a sigh, unable to stop himself from smiling as Jayce continued to laugh, properly considering their outfits anew. “You honestly did not notice?”
“No! No, I was so focused on other things, it really didn’t cross my mind,” Jayce moved around him to examine Viktor’s shoulders, skimming the surface of each little decal sewn into the fabric, “ matching ...”
“Oh? ‘Other things’?” Viktor prompted, watching dazedly as Jayce dragged his fingers against his sleeves, mapping the colours, spreading heat in his wake.
“Ah, well, you know,” gaze darting to the floor, hands quivering now as they outlined every inch of Viktor’s shirt, as if Jayce once again forgot he was even doing it.
Perhaps it was the drink, perhaps it was the charming tuft of hair falling onto Jayce’s forehead, perhaps it was his penchant for stirring the metaphorical pot. Viktor leant in slightly, “I’m afraid I do not know.”
Jayce ducked his head at that, crown glinting beneath the moon, tips of his ears pink and wonderful, “I’ve just been… Happy tonight.”
“Mhm? Because?”
The rest of the room was drifting away from them, nothing but the wood beneath their feet and the rays above their heads. Viktor with his arm still lightly wrapped around Jayce; his world in his hands.
“Because,” he chanced a look at Viktor, something akin to adoration flooding his features as they held each other’s gaze. His voice suddenly so small, so reverent, “because you stayed.”
A butterfly began to swoop somewhere deep in Viktor’s chest, wings tapping against his ribcage. “For a mere thirty minutes, Jayce.”
The softness of Jayce’s smile melted into something humorous, “it’s almost been three hours, actually.”
Ah.
“Ah.”
Jayce giggled again, “Mhm, I’ve enjoyed it. You. Being here, I mean. It’s… really nice.”
“Flattery will not make me come to more parties, you know.”
“It’s not flattery!” Hands slipped down onto Viktor’s waist.
“Of course not, of course not.” His own fingers hooked into the loops of Jayce’s trousers.
“I’m serious, Vik,” a step closer, chests inches apart, “it’s always better when you’re with me.”
Flames igniting, heat starting to smoulder beneath Viktor’s skin. He suddenly felt so bold. “Mm, well, your hands certainly enjoyed being with me tonight.”
He grinned as Jayce instantly blanched, eyes darting down to where he was holding Viktor, where he had been holding him. Ruby wine spreading onto caramel. Viktor’s heartbeat was thumping in his ears.
Jayce’s head fell onto Viktor’s shoulder, embarrassment blazing hot where skin met silk. “I didn’t notice that either.”
He didn’t take his hands away.
“You didn’t notice a great many things tonight, it seems.”
A minute nuzzle into Viktor’s neck, hiding, nervous breath prickling his throat. “You’re distracting.”
“Eh, I’ve been acting exactly as I always do.”
A small pause. The world briefly stalling on its axis.
“…You’re always distracting.”
It made Viktor shudder.
His palms moved into Jayce’s hair, threading the strands, easing his head up, locking their gazes together. He raised an eyebrow at him.
“Shit. Sorry, I,” red, red, so very red. His cheeks, ears, neck, chest, “I don’t know why I said that-“
“Jayce.”
“-I’ve been drinking and you know how that goes for me, and-“
“ Jayce. ”
“-I don’t want you to think this is why I asked you to-“
Viktor moved to cup his jaw, thumb drifting so near to his bottom lip. Jayce’s pupils blew wide, sweat beading on his brow. The words slid away from him.
“It’s funny. You distract me, too.”
Weighted breaths, their air mixing, heavy.
“ God , Viktor.”
Jayce ducked his head again, grip tightening against Viktor’s hips, with a shiver so stark it could be tracked down his body.
Viktor felt almost powerful, like a being worthy of reverence, a rush of something cosmic pulsing through his veins. As if Jayce had whispered his name like it were something holy.
“May I see your face?”
Jayce looked up instantly.
He was so open, his emotions painted cleanly across him; shyness, admiration, fear, hope. A symphony of humanity playing on Jayce’s features, and all of it solely for Viktor to see.
They simply watched each other then, standing so close, something building within Jayce, stirring him up, stars in his eyes as he stared. It made Viktor smile.
“God,” Jayce breathed again, quiet, unsure, flustered beyond anything he had ever seen, shaking where he stood, “What’re you doing to me, Vik?”
Viktor held his face, held the tremors and the anticipation, held the very thing he never permitted himself to consider. Red, white and gold, shining in his grasp, hoisting him high enough to feel as if he were floating. Reason rapidly vanishing in the midst of something, of someone so entirely beautiful.
Viktor found him utterly enthralling.
So, he leant forwards, noting the way Jayce’s breath hitched instantly in surprise.
He started shining again, perfect brilliance as Viktor ran his fingers across his cheekbones, moving ever closer.
Their noses bumped before anything else, charming a laugh out of them both, Jayce’s eyes littered with galaxies as he raked his gaze over every inch of Viktor, savouring the sight of him.
As if he couldn’t believe what was happening.
When their lips finally met, gentle and inevitable, it felt like destiny in motion.
Viktor couldn’t help the sigh that melted out of him as Jayce moved to bury his fingers in his hair, a giddy smile peeking at the corner of Jayce’s mouth, like he couldn’t contain it no matter how hard he might have been trying.
It was a mellow kiss, despite the preamble. Tender and achingly sweet, one it felt like they could have had shared thousands of times before. Perhaps that’s how it was always going to be between them; an innate sense of knowing one another, seeing each other as nobody else could, even in uncharted territories such as this. Jayce tasted like alcohol and stardust, like comfort and discovery, like beauty in its purest form.
Viktor had to pull back for a breath, Jayce chasing him as if he couldn’t bear for it to be over so soon, the smallest whine rising from his throat.
A heavy moment passed between them, a million thoughts carried within a single sigh, before they linked their fingers and rushed for the exit without a single word.
They offered no farewells to the attendees of the event that night; only distant laughter, the fading echoes of a cane on the cobblestones, and an abandoned jacket slowly slipping off of an antique chair.
The most simple of things were oftentimes the most beautiful.
Something in that made Viktor smile.
And something in his smile, it seemed, had Jayce tightening his hold even more.